Reps approve $1.25 million for Crotzer

With the wrongly incarcerated man sitting in the audience, the Florida House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly to pay Alan Crotzer $1.25 million for the 24 years he spent in prison.

Representatives approved the compensation bill in a 115-0 vote this afternoon. Originally, a proposal by Rep. Priscilla Taylor, D-West Palm Beach, would have provided every wrongfully incarcerated person in the state with $50,000 a year for each year spent in prison. But Taylor amended the bill to compensate Crotzer alone after her original bill and another proposal providing state money for Crotzer stalled in the Legislature.

"This is truly an opportunity to right a wrong," said Taylor with roughly 15 other House members standing at her side.

The proposal now heads to the Senate, where some Senators have said they are hesitant to approve a bill that circumvents the normal state compensation process.